alzun664

This is why I think the type of rattles don't matter much since even silent lipless cranks will give off that tight vibration. I will definitely have to experiment more with the different types of rattles this year though.

If there is a time that bass prefer one sound over the other I have yet to see it. I typically have less success with one-knocker types vs traditional rattles or silent lures. I think a lot of it is just marketing to sell more lures. From my experience If the fish are eating a lipless they're eating it regardless of what kind of noise it does or doesn't make.

There is a lot of conflicting advice when it comes to the color red. Some say to only use red near the back of the bait so that it looks like gills from behind. The logic behind that is that a fish will be more likely to attack a bait that isn't facing it. Others will tell you that red hooks on topwaters and jerkbaits will give the fish something to target, and resemble an injured/bleeding baitfish. I've also read a lot about the color red on the entire or most of the bait being very effective especially on lipless cranks and squarebills around the springtime. And lastly to add even more confusion there is the reasoning that because the color red turns grey to our eyesight at increased water depths, it should be avoided when fishing deeper and more stained to muddy waters. My advice especially for a beginner is that if there was only one color that worked all the time there wouldn't be such a huge variety of colors on every bait. When fishing from shore especially, its much more important to first find where the fish are and then worry about colors. You could have the perfect color for your given water clarity, depth and location but if there's no fish around you wont catch them.

The thought process behind the red hook theory is that it gives the fish something to "target" and it can look like gills or a bleeding/injured baitfish. So if you're going to be using a red hook it makes the most sense to put it either on the front hook or the middle hook (if theres 3) so that the fish has a higher chance of getting the other hooks in the process. It's more of a topwater thing because the color red turns into grey at certain water depths. If you mess with any hooks on any jerkbait its going to affect how it suspends in the water so I'd personally suggest against that, but you should be able to get a little more depth or even a slow sink with a thicker wire hook. As for hook style I like round bends. EWGs will work too but round bends have a higher hookup ratio when the fish swipe at it and aren't really taking the baits whole. I like VMCs. I like to sharpen my hooks if the stock hooks are too dull and will usually only change them out if they are lower quality than VMC.

I base my swim jig choice on water clarity and the type of forage I'm trying to mimic. Bluegill and Green Pumpkin are essentially the same color so you don't really need multiple jigs of each type, or to only throw each one a certain time.

I haven't personally tried the Clackin' Rap but I am a fan of Rapalas Rattlin' Rap. I mainly throw a lipless around and in submerged grass and the type of retrieve I use is either yo-yo'ing/ripping it through the grass or barely ticking over it. I have caught a few fish here and there around rocks and open water, but most of the fish I catch on a lipless are in the grass. I think location is a lot more important than the type of retrieve since it is a reaction style bait.

Of those you listed I'm a big fan of the booyah. It's a very soft frog and that means a higher hookup ratio. It doesn't take on water and is a very good buy for the price. I keep it simple with colors, but I like black.

The best time of year for any topwater is definitely fall, but you can get bit on them year round as stated. I seem to have the best luck on poppers anywhere from late summer through the fall and on overcast days year round.

I don't modify the hooks at all and have never had a problem with them. The only modification I've done is to slightly trim the legs just a bit because they're pretty long as is.

Which is your favorite all around jig color and why? Both are seen as versatile colors but I'm curious to see which is more popular or why you prefer it over the other in a specific situation. Most of the water I fish is stained, but for whatever reason I seem to do a lot better on PBJ over Black & Blue. Maybe my answer would change if I threw Black & Blue more, but as of right now my vote is definitely PBJ.

Skitter Pop, especially in firetiger.

Pretty much the same for me except I opt for the cheaper VMC hooks. I don't fish tournaments or anything and I've never had a problem with them actually bending out on a fish, even though they can and will bend if you tried. One thing I have learned is that when your lure gets snagged you're gonna wish you had some hooks that could bend out. I will admit Gamakatsu's are top notch, though. I do prefer the Round Bend style hooks over just about anything else, including lipless cranks. But if they already come with EWG style hooks I will leave those on.

You can, but as stated there is no advantage to fishing a frog in open water. If a fish slaps at your frog you are going to miss that fish guaranteed. whereas if you had a spook with round bend trebles on it you have a high chance of hooking up. The closest id get to walking a frog in 'open water' would still be near any kind of cover that I don't want a spook getting caught up in.

Loud rattles? High Pitched? Silent lures? Do you think they make a difference? For me it would be high pitched rattles like a Rebel Minnow or a Flicker Shad. For whatever reason I have done really well on lures with that kind of sound. On the opposite side of the spectrum, I haven't caught any fish on any lure with a solid "one-knocker" type of sound yet. I still throw those types but I haven't done well on them at all. I have caught fish on highly pressured lakes with louder baits so I don't think the type of rattle matters that much, but I do wonder if I would have caught more or bigger fish if I was using a silent or different sounding lure. Which sound do you have the most confidence in and do you think the type of rattle matters?

Are you sure its the line breaking and not the knots slipping? You should be using a Palomar Knot for braid, other knots will tend to slip because braids are so slick compared to mono/flouro. Another tip I can think of is to leave a bit of tag end on your Palomar knots. Braid is a no stretch line and that can be both good and bad. On the bad end if a fish really nails your bait and pulls hard in the other direction you will almost always lose your lure because there is no stretch. Especially if you clip the tag on your palomar knot too short. This is why you will want to tie a mono or flouro leader to give it some stretch. Another advantage of a leader with a braided main line is so the fish don't see your line. You'll want to get into the habit of doing this anytime you are using braid, especially in clear water. You can catch fish without a leader if they're aggressive enough or if the water is muddy enough, but I always have one tied on unless im frogging. I use a uni-uni knot for my braid to leader connections.